“The child by reason of his physical and mental immaturity, needs special safeguards and care, including appropriate legal protection, before as well as after birth” UN Convention on the Rights of the Child

Monday, August 20, 2012

Canadian Medical Association deny the humanity of unborn babies

The Vancouver Sun reports that the organization representing Canada's doctors says
life begins when a baby emerges from its mother's womb. This approach is in a similar vein to that set out in an article by Peter Singer, we reported on last week, which says that being human does not confer the right to life.

Delegates to the Canadian Medical Association's
annual general council meeting last Wednesday supported retention of the section of the Canadian
Criminal Code that declares a child becomes a human being at the moment of
birth.

According to the report:

Their move comes after concerns a private member's
motion in Parliament could be a back door to criminalizing abortion and the
doctors who perform it.

Conservative MP Stephen Wood-worth tabled his
motion this spring. It has been regarded as a move to reopen the abortion
debate.

The motion seeks to create a House of Commons
committee to review the Criminal Code section that declares a child becomes a
human being "when it has completely proceeded, in a living state, from the
body of its mother."

The report goes on to say that Prime Minister Stephen Harper has continually said
his government will not bring forward abortion legislation. With some top
Conservative cabinet ministers saying they will vote against Woodworth's
motion, it appears assured a death in the Commons when debate resumes in the
fall.

"This attempt to modify the definition of a
human being could legally recognize the fetus, which would give the fetus
rights," said Montreal physician Dr. Genevieve Desbiens. "This
constitutes a recriminalization, not only of abortion, but any form of
contraception.

"We must ensure women seeking to terminate
pregnancy and the doctors who support them and want to help them are not criminalized."

She said it's urgent for doctors to exert pressure
on the government "so this motion has no chance of being passed and the
debate is not reopened.

"I'm not asking if you are for or against
abortion. I'm asking for you to recognize that women must retain their full and
complete rights," she said to applause.

Ontario physician Dr. John Ludwig warned the group
against "unintended consequences." He said the criminal code is
"ancient and needs to be revised."

"If an assailant plunged a knife in the 38-week
gestational belly of your spouse, we would all consider that murder. But the
Criminal Code says that, because that fetus did not leave the body alive, it
doesn't have any rights.

"We need a new policy that somewhat more
balances the rights for women to have a therapeutic abortion when they wish, up
to 20 weeks, and then protects the life of that child from 20 weeks on, once
it's able to live on its own upon delivery from the womb."

Dr. Carole Williams, of Victoria, said the private
member's motion "is a back door way for government to reopen Roe versus
Wade, the 1973 decision that legalized abortion in the United States.

"It's inappropriate to have government
intervention into control of our-selves, our bodies and our children."

Comment This is a shameful case of ideology trumping
reality and truth. The decision of the medical association in this case actually goes beyond the argument about personhood, (the
claim that even though human the unborn baby was a non person.) This approach even denies the humanity of the unborn baby.

The record of the discussion is very
revealing and shows that the overriding consideration was to ensure that
there should be no restriction on the availability of, or access to
abortion. The very idea that an unborn human baby does not become human
until birth is offensive and coming from a scientific
community such as a medical association is a gross betrayal of the
"Hippocratic Oath". If the unborn was a white whale or a panda there
would be no doubt but that the unborn cub was of the same Genus as its parent. If an unborn baby is not human what is it?

There is another aspect to this decision which must be considered. The medical association appears to have indirectly conceded that denying personhood is not enough, they must actually deny humanity, because
acceptance of the humanity of the unborn weakens the pro-abortion argument.

Pat Buckley

I was born in Galway, Ireland where I attended first Scoil Fhursa and then St Ignatius (Jesuit) College. My family moved to Cork in 1960 and I spent my last year at the Christian Brothers College in Mc Curtain street Cork (CBC).

I came to Dublin in 1963 where I met and married my wife Philomena. We have lived in Dublin since then and have been blessed with seven children and 17 grandchildren (so far). When I finished school I studied architecture through the professional institutions and I am a retired Member of the Royal Institute of Architects of Ireland (MRIAI). I also hold a BSc. in psychology and political philosophy.

I currently lobby pro-life and pro-family issues at the United Nations in New York and Geneva and occasionally at the European Parliament and Council of Europe. I am a member of the pro-life, pro-family coalition operating within the international institutions and I am a consultant to the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children SPUC on UN and related matters.

Between 1978-85, as a married couple Philomena and I were involved in the presentation of Marriage Encounter Weekends and pre-marriage courses. We also represented Worldwide Marriage Encounter on a committee for the family in the Dublin Archdiocese. Between 1985-1988. I was appointed National Secretary and then President of the Catholic Secondary Schools Parents Association (CSPA). I have been lobbying pro-life issue at the UN for upwards of 12 years.

I am a past President of the National Association of Catholic Families (NACF)

Publications:

1997: Anthology of pro-life verse

IMAGES

I believe that I am allowed to use the images accompanying my blog and that they are licence- and royalty-free. However if the owner or the licensor disagrees, please contact me and I will remove it immediately.